Monorail



,T. H. WRIGH? MONORAXL File d Hatch 15. 1923 Patented Get. 28, 1924.

UNITED STATES ranges THOMAS H. WRIGHT, OF LOS .ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

MoNonAIL.

I Application filed March 15, 1923. Serial No. 625,174.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS H. WRIGHT, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Monorails, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to monorail cars of the character embodied in my co-pending' arranged as to permit dump-ing'from either.

side of the car. p

A furtheu purpose of invention is a provision of a dumping car in which the compartments are provided with door con trolled discharge openings, and simple and effective means for latching the doors in closed position, and manually operable means for actuating the latching means to allow the doors being opened.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of monorail dumping car embodied in my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the spirit of the invention and the spirit and scope of the appended claims. I

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a view showing in Vertical section one form of monorail dumping car embodying my invention in applied posi tion to a monorail track.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view showing in side elevation the dumping car shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Referring specifically to the drawings in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, my invention in its present embodiment comprises a car body including outer side walls 15 and inner side walls 16 spaced" from the outer side walls as shown in Fig. 1 and connected by a wall 17 of anticlinal form. It is to 'beunderstood that the walls 15,16, and 17 are connected to the end walls 18 of the body. r

As clearly shown in Fig. 1, the inner side walls 16 arearranged in diverging relation to each other and in converging relation to the outerjside. walls 15 so as to provide atopposite sides of the car body two separate and 653 distinct compartments designated at 19 and 20, respectively. The'side walls 15 are adequately braced by means of transverse bars 21 connected to the connecting wall 17 by means of V-shaped brackets 22. The'inncr side walls 16' are longitudinally braced through the medium of bars 23 secured to the walls in the manner clearly shown.

The outer sidewalls 15 include sections 24: which are hingedly suspended from the outer side walls by providing hinges 25 between the lower edges of the walls 15 and the upper edges 24 as illustrated to advan- 1 tage in Fig. 2. These hinged sections 24 constitute doors for controlling the discharge openings-19 and 20 respectively, of the compartments 1 9 and 20. Asshown in Fig. 1, the discharge openings are located adjacent thebottom's of the compartments 19 and 20 and at the oppositesides of the car body so that when the doors are in open position, the material within the compartments will be freetogravitate to opposite sides of the car. These doors 2% are normally secured in'closed position by means of so a plurality of latches 26, each of which, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 is mounted for pivotal movement indicated at 2'7 and is provided with a bill 28 at one end and an arm 29 at the other which is engaged by an expansible spring 30 for normally urging the latch lever to a position in which the bill 28 engagesthe lower edge of the corresponding door 24 thereby securing the latter in closed position.

To unlatch the door so as to allow the latter to move to open position, the several latches 26 of either door are capable of being simultaneously, moved to released position by means of a bar 31 which, as illustrated to advantage in Fig. 2, is substantially co -extensive with the car body so as to be capable of engaging all of the latches 26 at one and the same time. This bar 31 is mounted for vertical sliding movement in brackets 32 secured to the door 24 at regular intervals. The bar 31 is normally urged upwardly or to disengaging positioir with respect to the latches 26 by means of contractile springs 33 located at the oppositeends of the bar and connected to eyes 34 secured to the door 24. To move the bar 31 downwardly against the spring 33 so as to cause the bar to engage and move the latches 26 to released. position with respect to the door 24, I provide a plurality of cams 35 eccentrically mounted upon the door so as to engage the upper end of the bar 31 and force the latter downwardly when the cams are rotated. To effect rotation of the cams I provide an operating lever pivoted at the point indicated at 37 and operatively connected to the cams through the medium of a link 38 pivoted to the lever 36 at the point indicated at 39 and likewise pivotally connected to arms 40 secured to the cams 35.

From the foregoing arrangement it will be seen that when the lever 36 is moved to the right from the position shown in Fig. 2, the cams will be simultaneously rotated to force the bar 31 downwardly within the brackets 32 and against the tension of the springs 33 to move the latches 26 into released position with respect to the door 24.

As each door 24 is provided with the latching means and latch operating means as above described it will be clear that either door may be opened or closed independently of the other door thereby permit-- ting the independent discharge of material from either compartment 19 or 20.

In the present instance I have shown the monorail car as provided with an axle 41 journaled in bearings 42 secured to the confronting sides of the walls 16 and carrying a wheel 43 which is adapted to move over a. monorail 44. The rail 44 is supported upon a structure identical to that shown in my co-pending application hereinbefo-re referred to, and this structure includes guide rails 45 against which bear rollers 46 carried by hangers 47 secured to the walls 16 adjacent their lower ends.

lVhat I claim is: o

1. A monorail dumping car comprising a body having compartments therein with discharge openings at the opposite sides of the body, doors controlling the openings, a plurality oi": latching devices for securing each ofthe doors in closed position, means for simultaneously releasing the latching devices of either door to allow opening of the door, said means comprising a bar mounted for vertical sliding movement and normally urged to disengaging position with respect to said latching devices, and means for moving said bar to simultaneously engage all of the latching .devices for moving the latter to released position.

2. .A monorail dumping car comprising ,abody having compartments therein with discharge openings at the opposite sides of the body, doors controlling the openings, 1. plurality of latching devices for securing each of the doors in closed position, means for sin'iultaneously, releasing the latching devices of either door toallow opening of the door, said means comprising a bar mounted for vertical sliding movement and normally urged to disengaging position with respect to said latching devices, eccentrically mounted cams, a pivoted lever, and

I a link connecting the cams and lever whereby the-cams can be moved to force the bar into engagement with the latches.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

THOMAS H. WEIGHT; 

